My "Miracles" ?
Below are two of my own personal experiences. Could they be viewed as actual miraculous interventions from God, or were they mere coincidences?
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I needed to do a brake-job on one of my vehicles (I usually try to do my own maintenance). I went to the Auto Parts store and purchased some of my parts and then went to Walmart for the rest. The total from both stores came to $68 and change.
After purchasing the final supplies I got into my car in the Walmart parking lot. As I started it up I just happened to notice something in the kids seat of one of the empty shopping carts near where I was parked. I got out for a look. It was a rolled up wad of money and some change. I got back in my car and counted - it was $67 and change. I sat there for about 30 minutes to see if someone came back to look for it. No one ever came so I drove off. Timing was perfect for me finding almost the exact amount of money I had just spent for the supplies to repair my brakes, though there was one problem - money was not an issue at that time. Business was good. The only reason that I was doing my own brake repairs was because I was experienced at it and trusted my own work more than I trusted a repair shop.
Miracle or coincidence?
I was camping with some friends of mine, Andy and his wife, his Mother, his younger brother and younger sister. We were probably about 10 miles from the nearest paved road and nearest house, way back in the woods along a creek. We had tents set up, a campfire, some hammocks.
At some point around midnight, after all were laying in our tents, the ladies heard something that startled them. They expressed their fears and wanted to go home, (boo-hoo) so we begrudgingly packed up the two vehicles and headed out. I was driving my Jeep in the lead with Andy's brother riding shotgun and Andy was following in his car with the ladies. It was pitch dark and we were miles away from town, deep in a canyon, literally called "Dark Canyon".
We came to a " T " in the dirt road where we were going to take a left. Suddenly, at the instant that I was going to push on the gas and turn left, a crying woman ran right across my path, visible only in my headlights, mere feet in front of me. I looked at Andy's younger brother in surprise. I jumped out and looked down the dirt road as the woman was disappearing into the darkness. I could still hear her crying. I hollered after her "Do you need help?". She stopped, turned, and hesitatingly, slowly, began walking back toward us coming into view from the glow of my headlights. When she got close enough I could smell alcohol on her. She was holding her torn shirt over her bare breasts. She explained that she went out with a guy she met at a bar and he took her on the dirt road and tried to rape her and she managed to jump out and run. I asked how far she had run and she had no idea. We got her into my Jeep and told the others what was going on. We drove on and never saw another vehicle. When we encountered her she was a good 5 miles from the paved road.
We took her home, waited for her to go in, and that was that.
I have often wondered what would have happened to her if she had of ran past the dirt road intersection just 15 seconds sooner, before we got to the " T ". If we had of left camp 15 seconds later I would not have seen her and would not have had any reason to stop. I would have just turned left and continued on. The direction she was running went farther into the canyon, farther away from any homes or paved roads. Timing was perfect.
Miracle or coincidence?
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I have not embellished at all. These retelling's are to the best of my memory.
Note - one of these "miracles" occurred when I was a bible believing Christian - the other occurred after I became an atheist - Miracles or coincidences? - I suspect that many Christians would view these events as examples of direct intervention from God - especially if they happened to a Christian.
What do you think?
bob
r.u.reasonable@gmail.com
Matthew 5:45 "that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
ReplyDeleteWhether a person is an unbeliever or a believer, God still moves. He uses believers and unbelievers alike to impart His will and to bless those He chooses to bless, in the ways He chooses to bless them. It might not have been your will, but He put you on that road to bless that woman, and He allowed the money to be where it was when you arrived at it. In both circumstances, God's timing was perfect; in both situations, God's will was imparted, and yet the situations only had one difference: your belief. God's goodness doesn't change just because of our belief. Our belief just changes how we recognize God's goodness.